Ebimotors celebrated two top four finishes in 992-Am at the Hankook 12H MUGELLO, as well as the 992-Am runners-up for its #974 Porsche 992 GT3 Cup, but felt a second podium would have been on the cards for the sister #973 entry had the team not been delayed by two punctures.

Ebimotors, a three-time class winner at the Hankook 12H MUGELLO (including two with ‘Willi Motorsport’ in ’21 and ‘23), finished on the same lap as eventual 992-Am class winner Centri Porsche Ticino following “race stints that were always fast and without flaws by Mantas Janavicius, Aurelijus Rusteika, Marius Bartkus and Valter Zviedris aboard the #974 ‘Rimo Adero by Ebimotors’ Porsche. 

The Lithuanian-Austrian quartet impressed with the 6th fastest average time in 992 qualifying: Zviedris even posted the fastest lap of any 992 entrant during his 15-minute Q2 run. While Rusteika was lucky not to be collected by multiple spinners at turn two on the opening lap, the avoiding action meant the #974 Porsche dropped back to 11th in-class during the opening hour. 

In an impressive comeback, the #974 had worked its way back up to 3rd overall in 992, and the 992-Am class lead, before pitting for a full refuel and fresh tyres shortly before the overnight intervention. The following day, and with former 992-Am frontrunners RPM Racing and Neuhofer Rennsport eliminated in separate incidents on the Saturday, the fight was on between Rimo Adero by Ebimotors and Centri Porsche Ticino for the final spot on the overall 992 podium – behind the dominating Red Ant Racing and late charger Orchid Racing – and the 992-Am class win. Alternate fuel strategies meant Ebimotors even briefly held a 1-2 in 992-Am after the first hour on Sunday. 

In a gamble, the Italian team opted not to switch to wet-weather rubber when rain started falling lightly in the closing stages, thus keeping the #912 Centri Porsche Ticino entry in-sight: “Both Ebimotors cars did well to stay on the track when the asphalt was still partially dry, avoiding multiple pit stops to put on, take off and put back on, rain tyres.” A deluge during the final hour made the switch inevitable though, and ultimately, while the #974 Ebimotors could not overhaul its Swiss rival, Janavicius, Rusteika, Bartkus and Zviedris finished just over a minute behind to secure 2nd in 992-Am on their 24H SERIES’ debuts.

Despite a tough qualifying session – heavy traffic in Q3 meant Italian teammates Paolo Venerosi, Paolo Gnemmi and Gianluigi Piccioli started 13th in 992 – the sister #973 was running line astern with the #974 Porsche for much of the opening three hours, even climbing as high as 4th overall in 992. 

The first of two punctures on the Saturday, during Gnemmi’s first stint, however dropped the #973 back to 8th overall in 992 after the fourth hour, and nearly two laps down on its sister entry after half-distance. “A flawless and notable test” by Gnemmi and 2022 991 class winners Venerosi and Piccioli meant the Italian trio at least finished 4th in 992-Am, one lap behind NKPP Racing by Bas Koeten Racing, but was left ruing a missed opportunity: the #973 had been running two places and 30 seconds ahead of the Dutch team before its first puncture.